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THE makers of the iPod should be responsible for warning users
of the dangers of using the music player while crossing roads, the
Pedestrian Council of Australia says.

A state senator from New York has proposed a law banning people
from crossing the street while using such gadgets as iPods and
mobile phones.

But NSW police warned against legislating for "stupidity".

In New York, Senator Carl Kruger said pedestrians could not be
fully aware of their surroundings if they were "fiddling with a
BlackBerry, dialling a phone number, playing Super Mario Bros. on a
Game Boy, or listening to music on an iPod". Those who flouted the
ban should be fined $US100 ($130).

While he did not give any statistical evidence to support his
claim, he cited the death last month of a 23-year-old man from
Brooklyn who was struck by a bus while listening to his iPod.

The Pedestrian Council's chairman, Harold Scruby, doubted such a
law would be enforceable in Australia, but said gadget makers had a
responsibility to warn of the dangers of using their products while
crossing roads.

Mr Scruby said he had not seen any studies linking iPod use to
pedestrian injuries, ``but anecdotally it's obvious, and we should
be doing something about it''.

But the State Traffic Commander, Chief Superintendent John
Hartley, said: "You can't legislate stupidity - if people are
stupid enough to do something that's so distracting they can't see
cars coming, that's a problem they need to deal with."

Nonetheless, Superintendent Hartley said the NSW police would
look at the New York senator's proposal and the "impact it may have
in twelve months' time".

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said the way it kept its
records meant it was impossible to determine if any recent
pedestrian deaths resulted from iPod use.

The records went only as deep as deaths from "pedestrian
distraction".

David Rogers, after crossing Pitt Street at Martin Place while
listening to an iPod, said that he thought the legislation was
"probably a good idea".

"It's probably a sound concept, but perhaps the punishment is
pretty extreme," the 22-year-old said.

The iPod is by far the most popular music player in the world.
Apple controls over 70 per cent of the worldwide digital music
player market, and said it had sold 68 million units since
2001.